Nuclear Weapons

News about Nuclear Weapons, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 3, 2015

Pres Obama and Israeli Prime Min Benjamin Netanyahu attempt to downplay impression of their personal animosity even as they describe wildly divergent outlooks and strategies for dealing with nuclear-armed Iran; Netanyahu criticizes Obama's approach as naive at American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference in Washington in advance of address to joint meeting of Congress, while Obama calls Netanyahu an 'alarmist.' MORE

Mar. 2, 2015

Sec of State John Kerry prepares to meet again with Iranian Foreign Min Mohammad Javad Zarif in final push to negotiate deal to limit Iran's nuclear program; meeting comes as Israeli Prime Min Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in Washington to denounce same accord; Kerry's relentless negotiating style and close diplomatic relationship with Zarif have themselves become subject of debate amid tense, seven-nation talks. MORE

Feb. 27, 2015

Editorial warns North Korea could be on path to have 100 nuclear weapons by 2020, according to experts Joel Wit and David Albright; cautions that North Korea's production of high numbers of weapons is likely to result in sales of the weapons to other nations; urges Obama administration and other global powers to take stronger action to curb North Korea's missile and weapon production. MORE

Feb. 27, 2015

David Brooks Op-Ed column warns Obama administration may be making serious mistake in assuming rational mindset on part of Iran during nuclear negotiations, and in potentially allowing Iran nuclear power; holds if Iran remains radical and destabilizing influence in region, Western leaders should be tightening sanctions and further isolating Iran rather than allowing it nuclear capacity. MORE

Feb. 26, 2015

Tense White House meeting between national security adviser Susan E Rice and her Israeli counterpart Yossi Cohen underscores rift between Pres Obama and Israeli Prime Min Benjamin Netanyahu over his pending speech to Congress on Iran nuclear talks; Rice characterizes Netyanhu's actions as 'destructive,' suggesting risk to long-term bipartisan support for Israel. MORE

Feb. 25, 2015

Sec of State John Kerry, appearing before Senate panel, cautions critics of nuclear talks with Iran to 'wait and see' what negotiations with Tehran will lead to; specifically references Israeli Prime Min Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to address Congress. MORE

Feb. 25, 2015

Editorial expresses hope that quickening pace of talks between Iran and six major powers offers sign that agreement over Iran's nuclear program is possible; argues that those who wish for Iran to completely dismantle its program are being unreasonable; warns that even an imperfect deal that includes aggressive inspections would be preferable to allowing Iran to continue its nuclear activities unfettered. MORE

Feb. 24, 2015

Round of high-level talks end with Iranian and American officials considering proposal that would severely limit Iran's nuclear capabilities but ease restrictions slowly over course of at least 10 years. MORE

Feb. 24, 2015

Leaked South African intelligence service documents include 2012 report by Israeli intelligence agency Mossad saying that Iran did not appear close to second stage of nuclear weapon production; report contradicts Prime Min Benjamin Netanyahu, who had only three weeks earlier given dire speech at United Nations warning that Iran was only few months away from making nuclear bomb. MORE

Feb. 23, 2015

Decision by University of Massachusetts at Amherst to ban Iranian nationals from certain science and engineering programs has sparked anger and complaints; policy, set up to comply with federal law that established new sanctions against Iran for its nuclear weapons program, is revised after backlash in community; still, many Iranian students and those who sympathize with them question need for any policy, as law does not explicitly call on universities to carry out its enforcement. MORE

Feb. 20, 2015

International Atomic Energy Agency releases report charging that Iran continues to stonewall questions about evidence of past work on designing nuclear weapons; report comes as American and Iranian negotiators are set to meet for four days of talks in Geneva over country's nuclear program. MORE

Feb. 19, 2015

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, says that he does not trust West to lift all sanctions against Iran, condition he had said was essential to success of nuclear talks; comments cast doubt on prospect of peaceful compromise. MORE

Feb. 18, 2015

Assistants to Israeli Prime Min Benjamin Netanyahu say they are not being informed of details as United States engages in talks with Iran over nuclear deal; US denies allegations. MORE

Feb. 11, 2015

Israeli Prime Min Benjamin Netanyahu confirms for third time that he still plans to speak to joint meeting of Congress regarding his objections to Iran's nuclear program; Democrats have objected to circumstances surrounding visit by Netanyahu, to whom House Speaker John Boehner issued invitation without consulting Democrats or White House. MORE

Feb. 9, 2015

Iran Foreign Min Mohammad Javad Zarif, at Munich security conference, is pressing for progress in talks over limiting country's nuclear program ahead of March 2015 deadline; meetings are dominated by debates on Ukraine fighting. MORE

Feb. 5, 2015

Iranian Pres Hassan Rouhani accuses United States, Israel and other nuclear-armed countries of hypocrisy, emphasizing that his country wants to use nuclear power for peaceful purposes; comments, delivered in strongly-worded speech aimed at domestic audience, comes as retort to Iranian hard-liners who have accused Rouhani of weakness in international relations. MORE

Feb. 4, 2015

Thomas L Friedman Op-Ed column warns that Israeli Prime Min Benjamin Netanyahu's planned address to Congress about Iran at invitation of Speaker John Boehner could have disastrous consequences for Israeli-American relations; underscores how it is not in Israel's interest to be seen as influencing directly America's decisions about what to do with Iran, particularly if negotiations over its nuclear program fail. MORE

Jan. 29, 2015

Pedro Leonardo Mascheroni, former scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, is sentenced to five years in prison for passing secret nuclear weapons data to a person he believed to be a Venezuelan government official. MORE

Jan. 29, 2015

Israeli Prime Min Benjamin Netanyahu's acceptance of House Speaker John A Boehner's invitation to address Congress has unintentionally helped Pres Obama rally Democrats to his cause on nuclear talks with Iran; 10 Democrats announce their support of delay on voting on Iran sanctions. MORE

Jan. 28, 2015

Senate Democrats agree to delay sanctions against Iran until after March deadline. MORE

Jan. 28, 2015

Jan. 24, 2015

Editorial criticizes House Speaker John Boehner and Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer for inviting Israeli Prime Min Benjamin Netanyahu to Congress to challenge Pres Obama’s plan for achieving nuclear agreement with Iran and urge on more sanctions; says Republicans are trying to undermine Obama’s foreign policy, while Netanyahu is making misguided bid to bolster his image. MORE

Jan. 23, 2015

Pres Obama will not be meeting with Prime Min Benjamin Netanyahu during Israeli leader's March visit, when he will address joint session of Congress to lobby for additional sanctions against Iran; Obama opposes sanctions but Republican takeover of Senate and House Speaker John Boehner's efforts to win powerful allies in fight with Obama over Iran's nuclear plans have given battle momentum. MORE

Jan. 16, 2015

New Jersey Sen Robert Menendez faces-off against Pres Obama over whether Congress should impose new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. MORE

Jan. 15, 2015

Editorial holds United States should test North Korea's offer of putting temporary moratorium on nuclear tests if US refrains from military exercises with South Korea; warns Pyongyang may have enough fissile material for a dozen warheads and suggests exercises be modified in such a way as to keep engagement with North Korea going, since world cannot acquiesce as nation continues to assemble arsenal. MORE

Jan. 11, 2015

Editorial notes how both Iranian Pres Hassan Rouhani and Pres Obama must protect any possible nuclear agreement from domestic opposition within their countries; warns that any move by Republican leaders in Congress to impose new sanctions will jeopardize talks; cautions against squandering current opportunity to establish new deal. MORE

Jan. 10, 2015

Sec of State John Kerry will meet with Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, in hopes of advancing negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. MORE

Jan. 8, 2015

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, says his country should find internal solutions for dealing with economic sanctions and that United States cannot be trusted to lift sanctions even if nuclear agreement be reached; is first public criticism of government of Pres Hassan Rouhani since his election in 2013. MORE

Jan. 7, 2015

South Korean Defense Ministry says North Korea apparently has made 'significant' advance toward constructing nuclear warhead that can fit onto long-range missile capable of reaching West Coast of United States. MORE

Jan. 2, 2015

Editorial urges Pres Obama to persist in trying to find diplomatic solution to dispute with Russia over Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which bans both sides from deploying certain ballistic and cruise missiles; warns heeding call of some congressmen to withdraw from treaty will remove all restraints on Pres Vladimir Putin, who seems bent on trying to reform a Soviet Union; holds Russia must know that defying the treaty will come with grievous cost. MORE

Dec. 30, 2014

Japan and South Korea announce they will share military intelligence about North Korean missile and nuclear weapons programs, along with United States; defense analysts say pact is small but symbolic agreement bringing together estranged Asian allies. MORE

Dec. 28, 2014

Tony de Brum, foreign minister of Marshall Islands, has brought case against the eight nuclear powers of the world and Israel to International Court of Justice as first step in establishing convention to ban such weapons; tiny nation in the Pacific Ocean was site of 67 powerful nuclear tests conducted by United States in 1950s. MORE

Dec. 16, 2014

Iranian Pres Hassan Rouhani stresses that he is determined to cinch nuclear deal and is prepared to take on conservative forces who would prefer not to see agreement with the West; stance risks Rouhani's political standing. MORE

Dec. 16, 2014

Senate joins House in passing legislation to establish Manhattan Project National Historical Park, memorializing secretive World War II effort to build atom bomb; park will protect hundreds of surviving buildings and artifacts across New Mexico, Washington and Tennessee, where scientists developed bomb. MORE

Dec. 13, 2014

Many Iranians express confidence that nuclear deal will soon be reached, bringing end to sanctions that have crippled nation's economy for years; foreign investors also have high expectations, and have begun to explore business opportunities that could open up as soon as sanctions are lifted. MORE

Nov. 29, 2014

Russian Navy announces that it has successfully test fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile for the second time in recent months; Russia now has three nuclear submarines armed with the new weapon. MORE

Nov. 29, 2014

Editorial urges Defense Department to make plans regarding future of America's nuclear weapons program and to address issue of aging nuclear arsenal that far exceeds country's needs; deplores both decay of weapons and facilities and grim reports of drug use, security violations and low morale at nuclear bases; calls for Pres Obama to advance sensible disarmament agenda that he once espoused. MORE

Nov. 28, 2014

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says he supports extension of talks with Western powers on the country’s nuclear program, opinion that is crucial since he has the final say over any potential deal on Iran’s nuclear program. MORE

Nov. 26, 2014

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei addresses nation after deadline for nuclear agreement is extended by seven months; says West had tried and failed to bring country to its knees; remarks suggest that he will continue to support negotiations, but that he remains skeptical about their prospects. MORE

Nov. 26, 2014

Diplomatic Memo; seven-month extension of nuclear negotiations with Iran has been particularly upsetting to the 39 surviving Americans who endured 444 days of captivity in Tehran from 1979 to 1981; former hostages are particularly outraged that Iran will continue to receive $700 million a month in funds that were frozen under Western sanctions. MORE

Nov. 25, 2014

Negotiations over Iran's nuclear program are left unresolved as Sec of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Min Mohammad Javad Zarif agree to seven-month extension; discussions lead to the type of heated confrontation that both men had avoided over past year; failure to reach deal underscore fact that the two diplomats, who had a good working relationship, were constrained by hard-line politics at home. MORE

Nov. 25, 2014

United States and its allies are forced to extend deadline for Iran nuclear agreement by seven months; delay is seen as disappointment for Obama administration, for whom issue was arguably top foreign policy priority; Sec of State John Kerry says they are discussing some new ideas even as temporary agreement remains in place. MORE

Nov. 25, 2014

Iranian Pres Hassan Rouhani's standing amongst Iranian voters is suffering due to indefinitely delayed negotiations over country's nuclear programs, which, if approved, would lift devastating sanctions; supporters and analysts say Rouhani's doubling down on nuclear deal puts him in politically dangerous position, as he has failed to deliver on other promises of more freedoms and improving the economy. MORE

Nov. 24, 2014

Sec of State John Kerry meets with Iran's foreign minister and raises idea of extending talks on curbing country's nuclear program as issues remain unresolved ahead of deadline; Pres Obama says gaps in talks remain significant. MORE

Nov. 23, 2014

Iran's potential ability to produce nuclear bomb in secret, move known as 'sneakout,' is concern lurking behind nuclear negotiations with Iran in Vienna; fears over future Iranian covert program, and difficulty of designing agreement that addresses possibility, is rooted in long history of distrust but has rarely been spoken of publicly; negotiators, however, are rushing to include language in deal that confronts unknown. MORE

Nov. 22, 2014

High-level negotiating sessions in effort to reach an accord with Iran on its nuclear program are encountering key obstacles that call into question the likelihood that any agreement announced in coming days will be complete; some officials privately say it seems increasingly likely that a deadline extension will be needed. MORE

Nov. 22, 2014

Q&A discusses history of nuclear negotiations with Iran, international effort that is approaching a crucial moment, and examines how a comprehensive agreement might be structured. MORE

Nov. 21, 2014

Any deal reached on Iran's nuclear program between Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian negotiators will likely be superseded by hard-liners in Iran who oppose any compromise on nation's right to enrich uranium; some insiders, however, feel that nuclear deal is fundamental part of planned strategy by Iranian leaders to both normalize country's international relations and turn from founding principles of anti-Americanism. MORE

Nov. 21, 2014

American officials, including Sec of State John Kerry, express opinion that any agreement with Iran should be constructed to retard country's nuclear program enough that it would take at least a year for Iran to make material for a nuclear bomb if it moves to negate the deal. MORE

Nov. 20, 2014

US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University reports that North Korea may be preparing to reprocess spent nuclear fuel to extract weapons-grade plutonium at its main nuclear complex north of Pyongyang. MORE